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Today in History: Ohio State’s Big Ear detects mysterious Wow! signal

8/15/2026

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Summary

Story summary

On August 15 1977, Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope captured a powerful, narrow-band burst from Sagittarius’s direction. The signal’s intensity and frequency pattern matched criteria for an artificial source, prompting its “Wow!” label on the printout. It remains the most famous unexplained SETI detection.

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Story summary

On August 15 1977, Ohio State University’s Big Ear radio telescope captured a powerful, narrow-band burst from Sagittarius’s direction. The signal’s intensity and frequency pattern matched criteria for an artificial source, prompting its “Wow!” label on the printout. It remains the most famous unexplained SETI detection.